diff --git a/services/core/models/src/nmp/core/models/controllers/backends/deployments_plugin/compiler.py b/services/core/models/src/nmp/core/models/controllers/backends/deployments_plugin/compiler.py
index 4ddecb15fc..d4e35b47d4 100644
--- a/services/core/models/src/nmp/core/models/controllers/backends/deployments_plugin/compiler.py
+++ b/services/core/models/src/nmp/core/models/controllers/backends/deployments_plugin/compiler.py
@@ -62,6 +62,12 @@
 _WEIGHTS_MOUNT = "/model-store"
 _SCRATCH_MOUNT = "/scratch"
 _LORA_MOUNT = "/scratch/loras"
+# The adapters sidecar's `nemo services run` writes instance state under $XDG_STATE_HOME
+# (default ~/.local/state), but the pod runs it as the vLLM uid (2000), which does not own
+# the nmp-api image's $HOME (/home/nvs, uid 1000) -- so the default path is unwritable and
+# the sidecar crash-loops. Redirect it to the writable scratch volume, outside the
+# /scratch/loras subtree the adapters controller GCs.
+_LORA_SIDECAR_STATE_DIR = f"{_SCRATCH_MOUNT}/.nmp-state"
 _SCRATCH_VOLUME_SIZE = "1Gi"
 
 
@@ -145,6 +151,7 @@ def _lora_sidecar(
         "NMP_MODEL_ENTITY_WORKSPACE": entity_workspace,
         "NMP_MODEL_ENTITY_NAME": entity_name,
         "NMP_BASE_URL": platform.base_url,
+        "XDG_STATE_HOME": _LORA_SIDECAR_STATE_DIR,
     }
     if engine == ENGINE_VLLM:
         sidecar_env["VLLM_LORA_BASE_MODEL_OVERRIDE"] = MODEL_STORE_PATH
diff --git a/services/core/models/tests/unit/controllers/backends/deployments_plugin/test_compiler.py b/services/core/models/tests/unit/controllers/backends/deployments_plugin/test_compiler.py
index 8d4334379a..e7bd907ad1 100644
--- a/services/core/models/tests/unit/controllers/backends/deployments_plugin/test_compiler.py
+++ b/services/core/models/tests/unit/controllers/backends/deployments_plugin/test_compiler.py
@@ -300,6 +300,9 @@ def test_lora_uses_native_sidecar_on_k8s_and_container_on_docker() -> None:
     assert sidecar.image == "registry/nmp-api:tag"
     env = {item.name: item.value for item in sidecar.env}
     assert env["NIM_PEFT_SOURCE"] == "/scratch/loras"
+    # Sidecar `nemo services run` state must land on the writable scratch volume, not the
+    # nmp-api image's $HOME (unwritable under the pod's vLLM uid). See _lora_sidecar.
+    assert env["XDG_STATE_HOME"] == "/scratch/.nmp-state"
     assert env["VLLM_LORA_BASE_MODEL_OVERRIDE"] == "/model-store"
     assert env["NMP_BASE_URL"] == "http://platform.example:8080"
     assert env["VLLM_ENDPOINT"] == "http://127.0.0.1:8000"